August 2014 | Volume 35, Issue 8
FNGLA’S MONTHLY PUBLICATION: DIGITAL MONTHLY ISSUE LOCATED AT HTTP://GREENLINE.FNGLA.ORG
What’s Up with Medical Cannabis? Florida Governor Rick Scott recently signed SB 1030 into law. It allows for the medical use of a non-euphoric strain of cannabis – known as Charlotte’s Web – for medicinal purposes. It has been shown medically to ease epileptic seizures among children, as well as treat other diseases. The law allows one Dispensing Organization in each of five regions around the state. The overarching pre-qualification is the Dispensing Organization must be a Florida nursery in business at least 30 years and have an inventory of at least 400,000 plants. There are now 55 nurseries which meet these pre-qualification criteria. On July 7, the Florida Department of Health held a public workshop in Tallahassee on its draft rule to implement the new law. The room was full with attorneys, investors, growers, as well as parents of children for whom Charlotte’s Web may help. FNGLA was there monitoring it all. The Department of Health held a second workshop on August 1 and FNGLA offered further comments and concerns on the draft rule. An FNGLA task force met on July 22 to analyze the Department of Health’s initial draft rule. And, given what is known with the proposed Charlotte’s Web framework, the task force also began to look forward to what FNGLA’s position may be with future regulatory criteria -- if the more broad medical marijuana amendment to Florida’s constitution passes in November. If it passes, there will likely be need for a broader array of products to meet demands of a larger market. There is some surprising interest in the U.S. House of Representatives to wrestle with the illegal status of medical marijuana. Legislation was just introduced this week to exempt cannabis plants with very low percentages of THC -the euphoric or high-inducing chemical. Last month, the U.S. House passed a bill to allow banks to handle cash transactions from dispensaries and other marijuana businesses in legalized states. The Farm Bill now allows industrial hemp -- a strain of cannabis without THC -- to be grown for academic or research purposes. And, back in May, the U.S. House passed a bill to block funds for DEA raids on marijuana dispensaries that are legal under state law. The U.S. Senate has yet to act on any of these Housepassed measures. Continued page 3
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